Sanguinarians
Within the vampire community, blood-drinkers are commonly known as sanguines or sanguinarians. The word is taken from the Latin sanguis, which means literally, “blood.” A sanguine vampire – “'sang vamp'” for short – drinks blood from willing human donors on a semi-regular basis. Amy Krieytaz has coined the term "sanguinarians" for blood vampires whose main vampiric tendency is a compulsion, or need, to consume blood for reasons that are not primarily related to eroticism or emotional satisfaction. Blood cannot be digested by humans for energy, and is different in these sangs. Sanguinarians can contract AIDS, or any other communicable disease via the blood they ingest or manipulate. Most desire human blood, and many blood vampires have arranged for "donors" to supply them with fresh blood. Some blood vampires describe a life-long fascination with blood and blood-drinking, while others experienced an abrupt awakening of blood-craving which they may or may not be able to trace to a certain event. But some times are forced to feed from themselves. The amount of blood consumed, and the frequency of consumption, varies highly among blood vampires, but few consume more than tiny amounts at a time, usually obtained through slight cuts or punctures made by lancets or razor blades on willing human "donors". See Often, the "donors" themselves undertake the making of all cuts or wounds. Many blood vampires insist that "donors" undergo testing for blood-borne diseases, including HIV and hepatitis. Some blood vampires consume animal blood, but this is unpopular and usually considered an inferior substitute for human blood. Because of the obvious difficulties in finding trustworthy or consistent "donors", or other sources of fresh blood, many blood vampires are highly concerned with the problem of "blood famine" or blood deprivation. More material substitutes for blood that are reported include "blood" drained from raw meat, rare meat itself, milk and dairy products, and even chocolate. Blood-drinking HLV's believe strongly that their need to consume human blood is not merely psychosomatic, but none of them has been able to present any workable theory as to just why they require blood. Blood vampires are divided into two primary categories, by intensity of their need for regular blood consumption. *Severe or "bloodlusting" blood vampires experience the most critical and physical blood cravings. They report a need for larger amounts of blood than most blood vampires or psi-blood feeders consume at one time, and require it more often. *Moderate or "blood-craving" blood vampires are satisfied with smaller amounts of blood from "donors" and do not experience the same intensity of withdrawal symptoms, or inner compulsion as severe blood vampires. They may be satisfied for far longer periods of time with various substitutes, and their need for blood may be more intertwined with complex emotional and sexual feelings. In this age of Hepatitis C and HIV, this is admittedly a risky practice, and while there are several resources online that offer tips for making blood-drinking as safe as possible (such as Sanguinarius.org), a lot of the safety procedures rely heavily upon each individual's personal habits. Blood donors are people that willingly allow human living vampires to drink their blood. Within vampire society, human vampires and donors are considered equal, yet donors are expected to be subservient to the vampires.Because of health concerns and also because of the intimacy of feeding, a great many practicing vampires find a donor who also becomes their monogamous sexual partner. Some vampires find blood-drinking to be an erotic experience, and many find that it makes them feel empathically linked to their donor, cementing bonds between vampire and donor that are emotional and spiritual in nature. At the same time, donors are difficult to find, and because of that human vampires have no reason to abuse their donors. Getting even one donor is not always easy, even though there are people who willingly and happily offer themselves up for this role. Isolation and secrecy tend to make it difficult for many vampires to make contact with the people who would be willing to serve in this capacity. Many of the big cities such as London, Paris, Milan, New York and Los Angeles have a well-developed vampire underground. In such cities, it is relatively easy to find the places where vampires live. Sanguinarians do not have long or sharp fangs. Some of them claim the reason for this is dilution via the prolonged interbreeding of vampires and humans. Others say the fangs are retracted when not in use. However, sanguinarians rarely if ever actually bite their donors in order to draw blood. Biting is exceptionally risky as there are all manner of potent bacteria living within the human mouth. Bites can transmit the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as the hepatitis B virus and syphillis. Joint infections can lead to septic arthritis. Someone who has a human bite wound should get prompt first aid and see a doctor within 24 hours of the injury if the skin is broken. In addition to the risk of infection, biting causes extensive bruising and other damage to the donor. Human teeth were simply not made to pierce flesh neatly and cleanly. Fake fangs could technically be used to draw blood, but the vast majority of sanguinarians with a mind toward safety use sterilized lancets, syringes, razors or acupuncture needles. * The external carotid artery This is the most common place of all to have a vampire bite. This is the artery in the side of your neck where you take your pulse, closest to the surface between the jaw, slightly under the earlobe and forward, and the collarbone. * The jugular vein Extending on either side of the trachea (the throat), following down the neck from the chin to the collarbone, this vein is very dangerous to pierce. The jugular leads directly down into the heart and carries all the blood from the brain. The jugular vein is much larger than the carotid artery, and so carries much more blood. * The median cubital vein This vein is the one in the elbow where, if you've ever had blood drawn, that is where they stick you. * The ulner artery This is the artery in the wrist. After the neck it seems to be the second favorite place for vampires to bite. Remember this though, the vein lies under some tendons (unlike the medial cubital which is right under the skin in the elbow), so that could pose a problem with biting. ' * The greater saphenous vein' This vein runs along the inside of either thigh. The vein is large and deep; it would take a big bite to get down into it, but its location makes it a nice. *''' The femoral vein''' This vein is the one at the back of the knee. Like the median cubital in the elbow, this vein lies close to the skin and is an easy bite if you have a victim face down and willing to not kick or unable to kick.